Road Trip Ontario: Where to get the best bang for your buck when skiing in Ontario

If you’re planning to hit the slopes this winter in Ontario, your best bet for a good time is to head to Mount St. Louis Moonstone in Coldwater, according to a new report.

The 2020 Ontario Ski Report, released by homes-to-go.ca this week, says that the mammoth ski hill located around 30 minutes north of Barrie is the best value overall, despite being one of the most expensive.

“Although there is a large price gap between Ontario’s ski resorts, many of the large resorts still provide relatively good value for their price,” the report noted.

The report considered seven different factors when it ranked 21 different ski hills from across Ontario.

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It looked at affordability including price of an adult lift ticket, ski equipment rental and a night’s accommodation as well as the resort’s size, which included elevation, number of trails, acreage of ski terrain and number of chair lifts.

When all of those factors were tied together, the report ranked Mount St. Louis Moonstone atop the list.

It was followed by Blue Mountain, which is near Collingwood and the Calabogie Peaks, located about an hour’s drive west of Ottawa.

Rounding out the top five were Ski Snow Valley Resort, near Barrie, and Loch Lomond which is up in Thunder Bay.

The report also ranked the resorts in terms of size and affordability.

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Four of the five best were also among the biggest.

With a vertical elevation of 720 feet, 13 lifts and 43 runs, Blue Mountain was by far the biggest among the 21 ranked.

Mount St. Louis Moonstone was second over vertical elevation of 550 ft., 12 lifts and 35 runs.

With a vertical elevation of 860 feet, Calabogie Peaks is the highest, but has only has three lists for its 24 runs.

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Searchmont Resort, which is 45 minutes from Sault Ste. Marie, is the fourth largest (vertical elevation of 750 feet., four lifts and 18 runs) while Ski Snow Valley (vertical elevation of 279 feet, nine lifts and 21 runs) rounds out the top five.

While the larger ski resorts represent the best value, according to the report, they are also among the priciest.

For those looking for a lower price tag, the 2020 Ontario Ski Report also ranked the ski resorts in terms of cost and the list was definitely much different.

About an hour’s drive west of Ottawa, Mount Pakenham in Packenham scored highest in the list, considering the cost of an adult lift ticket, ski equipment rental and a night’s accommodation.

Boler Mountain in London was second, followed by Chicopee in Kitchener, Laurentian Ski Hill in North Bay and the Kamiskotia Snow Resort, which is about a half hour from Timmins.